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Is witch hazel safe for dry and sensitive skin?

I am considering incorporating witch hazel into my shaving routine. I have suffered from dry, flaky and sensitive skin on my face for a long time. I am hoping that wet shaving with a safety razor will help alleviate this. I wonder why my dermatologist did not recommend the wet shaving method to me instead of using a cartridge?

In my very limited experience I would say that witch hazel will dry out the skin a bit, at least it does for me. But, I just use an aftershave balm to moisturize the skin after I use the WH I my skin seems to come out fine.

Give it a try, but the alcohol-based ones will take oil out of your skin. Thayer's makes a few that don't have alcohol; one of those might agree with you. I'd also look at a nice ASB. I've had good luck with Alt-Innsbruck.

Like the above posts i would go for the non alcohol w/h, i read a article on w/h where it desribed the benifits, which included use as a aftershave, but it also outlined that using it to much will dry your skin out, i buy the stuff from my local chemist and use it about 2-3 times a week, the rest i use my alum bloc, but managed to find a uk sourse for thayers, and bought the non alcoholic stuff, so i may try to use that a bit more in my routine.

Like the above posts i would go for the non alcohol w/h, i read a article on w/h where it desribed the benifits, which included use as a aftershave, but it also outlined that using it to much will dry your skin out, i buy the stuff from my local chemist and use it about 2-3 times a week, the rest i use my alum bloc, but managed to find a uk sourse for thayers, and bought the non alcoholic stuff, so i may try to use that a bit more in my routine.

It's a common complaint on these boards that dermatologists aren't any more informed or educated on DE shaving, quality products, etc, than the average 'man on the street. At best, some of the better informed doctors will suggest Aveeno or similar shave products.

Out of curiosity, what has your skin issue been diagnosed as? If it's seborrheic dermatitis, the use of witch hazel will likely not help anything, and may burn. I had to stop wearing a goatee because of seb derm, and with the application of a topical anti-fungal (Xolegel in my case), my case cleared up and has not returned.

In my case, the skin was red, inflamed, irritated and flaky in patches. It also itched something fierce. I suspect that part of the reason that it hasn't returned is because of the frequent renewal of the surface of my face, based on the scraping of the razor.

Out of curiosity, what has your skin issue been diagnosed as? If it's seborrheic dermatitis, the use of witch hazel will likely not help anything, and may burn. I had to stop wearing a goatee because of seb derm, and with the application of a topical anti-fungal (Xolegel in my case), my case cleared up and has not returned.

In my case, the skin was red, inflamed, irritated and flaky in patches. It also itched something fierce. I suspect that part of the reason that it hasn't returned is because of the frequent renewal of the surface of my face, based on the scraping of the razor.

Good luck!

My Dermatologist mentioned possible contact dermatitis and/or psoriasis. My face tends to be dry and easily irritated by shaving. It appears that the Lab Series Razor Burn Relief Ultra is some help. Thanks.